>> live and in hd, this is "good morning washington," on your side. >> straight ahead heartbreak for a family in oxon hill. a father rushed to try to save his son from a waterrunaway cart. >> a new twist in the murder case against olympian oscar pistorius. the lead investigator facing attempted murder charges in a separate incident. good morning, washington. it's thursday february 21. i am scott thuman. i am cynne simpson. . we will get straight to meteorologist jacqui jeras. >> another cold one and breezy point. the wind will be strong, but not as bad as yesterday. lingering cloud this morning. partly cloudy skies.

that will clear up throughout the day, after this morning. ample sunshine this afternoon. 26 degrees in d.c., 23 winchester, 25 in culpeper, 26 in quantico. temperatures are a little warmer than yesterday by a degree or two with a higher around 42 degrees. more details on a wintry mix headed our way tomorrow, coming up in the seven-day forecast. first let's check on traffic with jamee. >> quiet is from the traffic center. that's good as we get under way. no problems. across the 14th street bridge, and on the southeast southwest freeway, or 14th street, a travel lanes (. lanes are open around the capital beltway in virginia and maryland. university boulevard down to the beltway, 95 betweenthe the beltway,

we are fine. >> breaking news in prince george's county. crews are battling a blaze at a home in the 8600 block of lesley avenue in glenarden. multiple people have been pulled from the home. john gonzalez is on his way to the scene. we will have a live report in our next hour. we begin with what prince george's county police are calling a tragic accident. officers say a 3-year-old boy was hit and killed by a car. >> this happened wednesday night at an apartment complex on audrey lane in oxon hill. the boy and his grandmother were inside a car when suddenly it started rolling backward. it's not clear exactly where the two were sitting in the car. the boy's father was outside the car holding his two year-old daughter. when he saw what was happening

he dropped his daughter, tried to stop the car. that's when the boy fell out of the car and was hit and killed. neighbors are stunned. >> it's tragic. the kids come out and play, but i did not think nothing like that would happen. >> the boy's father suffered from minor injuries along with his young daughter when he dropped her in an effort to stop the car. police are investigating to see if the car was left in gear. >> as suitland high school students more loss of two classmates, five suspects are in custody charged with first- degree murder in the shooting death of charles walker. he was fatally shot monday over a pair of shoes. and other suitland high school student, aaron kidd, was killed tuesday night. his friend andre shuford also died in that shooting. >> it's real sad to hear somebody i watched grow up die. >> it needs to stop.

these kids need to graduate and do something with their lives. >> police don't believe the killings are related. >> a developing story from south africa. a bail hearing for double amputee olympian oscar pistorius could wrap up today. closing arguments as the prosecution's case appears to be falling apart. this is amid revelations of police mistakes and an admission that authorities have no evidence challenging his claim that he accidentally shot and killed reeva steenkamp on valentine's day. the lead investigator in the case is facing attempted murder charges for 2011 shooting. oscar pistorius murdered his girlfriend and she was hiding in a bathroom after the two were involved in a fight, say prosecutors. >> the house panel will hold hearings today on the impact of sequestration. lawmakers will look at how it will affect the economy, middle- class, and the small business. if a deal is not reached by

march 1 the vast majority of the defense department's 800,000 civilian workers will be furloughed. virginia and maryland are two of five states expected to be hardest hit. it would have a big impact on travel. fewer passengers would use d.c. area airports and fewer people will take vacations this summer. >> today's the day you can start entering the lottery to get tickets for one of the most popular events in d.c. >> the annual white house easter egg roll, the ticket lottery started to cry a.m. this morning and will end on 10:00 february 25. >> in business news, is american or british dates for boeing. >> few americans are spending money now that paychecks are getting smaller. linda bell joins us with those

stories and more. >> w know anyone spending less now that our paychecks are a little lighter? the payroll tax cut is leaving 70% of americans to cut back on spending. the national retail federation says many are delaying major purchases on items such as tv sets furniture, and cars. wal-mart is blaming this for dismal. february dismal we will pay close attention to what walmart says later today when they report their quarterly results later this morning. you mentioned going. -- boeing. they will present regulators with a redesign of the 787 dreamliner's battery in order to get the jets back in the air. its has a harder battery case and a venting mechanism for the fumes. if you have breakfast on the go

cereal makers are rolling out something new to offset slumping sales. i will tell you, in the next hour. linda bell reporting for abc 7 news. back to you. >> thank you. 4:37, 25 degrees. >> a different kind of obstacles on the golf course in arizona. you are looking at snow. how

>> mother nature decided to complicate things during wednesday's championship in arizona. the golf tournament lasted three and a half hours before a winter storm suspended play. some of the guys decided to have a snowball fight to make the best of it. the players will try again later today. >> that's what we have been looking for a tour around here. >> that's pretty. >> as long as it melts quickly. >> that was tucson, arizona. they usually get a couple inches this time of year. >> that the plan enough to make a snowball. >> not much snow around here, but tomorrow we could see a

little wintry mix. sleet and maybe freezing rain in the potomac highlands especially and a little north of the d.c. metro. most of it will be just a rain for us here. temperatures are cold and it's breezy. it feels like the teens this morning. 18 ntc, $59, 15 in manassas, 14 in martinsburg. it will be a sunny day for the most part. if a few clouds this morning. sunshine this afternoon with a wind chill factor in the '20s or low 30's. cool at the end of this week. tomorrow we will see a light mixed. only one-tenth of an inch of moisture. i hope it will not cause many problems. in the meantime, let's check on traffic would jamee.

>> we like the rodeads. everyone coming in from the west, the greenway, the toll road 95, 395 at duke street, 14th street bridge, it's a good time to get going. no troubles. in maryland, a good time on 270 between frederick and the capital beltway. no obstacles. b-w parkway, 295 northbound, overnight roadwork at route 100 they are wrapping backup'up0. coming out of southern maryland lanes are open. back to you. >> thank you. back to the breaking news we told you about from prince george's county. crews are battling a blaze at a home in the 8600 block of alicia avenue in glenarden. this is the first picture we're getting from that fire. multiple people have been pulled

from the home. >> john gonzalez is on his way to the scene. live pictures in our next hour. 4:42, 24 degrees. >> a local teachers finding new ways to teach his students about mathematics. >> ♪ >> what his students think about his

>> the man charged with killing a fairfax county college student will appear in court today. garcia is accused of stabbing vanessa pham to death after she left a salon in june of 2010. he was arrested at a vienna construction site in december. it's not clear why he allegedly killed her. longtime d.c. area coach rick curl is expected to plead guilty to child sex abuse charges in montgomery county today. he was charged in october if after former student said that he abused her for several years in the 1980's. the former students include world record breakers as well as olympic gold medalists. he faces 15 years in prison. >> montgomery county firefighters looking into what caused a commercial building fire in germantown. newschopper 7 was over the scene wednesday night in the 17,000

block of germantown road. no injuries reported the. that's the good news. the warehouse is in an isolated area and it did not affect traffic or any residents nearby. allegations are surfacing about sexual harassment in the d.c. fire department. >> sources tell us numerous women have launchelodged a complaint. two training academy inspectors have been accused of harassing female cadets source. tell us the harassment or sexual in nature. the department says it takes the allegations seriously but they believe the alleged inappropriate conduct was not sexual. >> we have done everything we can to remove those members and to retrain them. we will take additional action is necessary. >> a d.c. councilman is the chairman of the public safety committee. tommy wells says there will be an investigation. >> former congressman jesse

jackson jr. could be sentenced to more than four years in prison following his guilty plea. illinois democrat admitted he spent $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items. he will be sentenced in june. his wife sandra pleaded guilty to filing false joint federal income tax returns. she faces two years in prison. >> frederick county sheriff will speak with some people and he is sworn to protect. sheriff jenkins will hold a community meeting tonight to discuss law-enforcement issues and county. public is invited to attend the meeting that will be held from 7:00 until 8:30 p.m. tonight at crestwood middle school in frederick. >> virginia's quail house and senate should vote this week's on transportation plan. the governor's bill drew opposition. the new version will replace the state's 17.5 cent per gallon gas tax with a 3.5% wholesale gas

tax. it would also increase the sales tax to 5.3% and would impose a $100 fee on hybrid cars. >> the donald in a public meeting tonight -- ddot is holding a public meeting tonight. they want to make a new neighborhood and 11th street bridge. the meeting is tonight (a puddle at 14445 c street in southeast. >> the redskins hope to install a new playing surface at fedex field by the end of next season. >> head coach mike shanahan admits after january's playoff loss to the seahawks the field was in less than ideal conditions. last week the general manager bruce allen said that plans to redo the field will be done once-- announced in april.

in light of changing moment for a french ship collegiate academy senior. [applause] -- a life-changing moment. representatives from hanover college and surprised a student in northeast on wednesday. he got a scholarship worth more thanthan $130,000. his excellent and the class room combined with his role as a father figure for its siblings weighed heavily in their decision. you can tell how excited he is. congratulations. >> good for him. >> a montgomery county high school's teachers as a fun way to tell students learn mathematics >> . ernesto lara produces rap

videos. >> ♪ >> cedarville the veep sample lyrics will help students understand and retain lessons in geometry calculus, and more. he has posted is videos on youtube so anyone can use them. students say they're working. >> i have not gotten < a b on an exam-- i have not gotten less than a b"b" since the songs. i think of the songs while i am taking my tests. >> it sounds really good. kind of likes snoop dogg. 4:51 right now. let's check in with jacqui jeras for the forecast. >> that sounds like a great thing. i will say that it absolutely

works. my daughter can recite some things because of songs and she can recite every president in order because she learned in a song. if it is definitely makes a difference in retaining information. 26 is the temperatures today wind chill of 18. that was a really lame attempt. i deserve the hate mail. temperatures in the twenties with a strong wind. feels like the teens. even a couple single digits at this hour. we will be dealing with the bat throughout the day as the wind will stay strong. not quite as bad as a yesterday, but not all that pleasant. we have a little bit cloudy this this morning, but that will clear out. it will be short-lived. plenty of sunshine by the afternoon. there's a huge storm system across parts of the plains states. severe weather across the lower

mississippi river valley. heavy snow, near blizzard conditions in kansas and nebraska. that will be headed our way late-night. we will start to see clouds increasing and wintry mix will be possible especially north and west of the d.c. metro area on friday. the moisture will be very limited. a better chance of rain saturday. today's forecast, mostly sunny skies with a high temperature between 40 and 45. jamee, how about traffic? >> i am loving the early ride across the woodrow wilson bridge, american legion bridge, and this looks good. the house fire in the glenarden area of maryland, inside the beltway, south of 704, so you might see fire and rescue units responding. no problems on the beltway at 50 the john hanson highway getting through cheverly into town, this looks good too.

back to you. >> thank you. 24 degrees. >> next we will explain how the weather puts a snag

>> fans are mourning the loss of actor lou myers. >> the 76-year-old actor was best known for his role on the

tv show "a different world." the died at a hospital in west virginia. he had been in and out of the hospital last year and recently collapsed. an autopsy is planned. >> three days away from one of the biggest night in hollywood. talking about the oscars. >> crews are continuing to get ready for the 85th annual show. the red carpet was rolled out on wednesday a few hours later than planned, because of concerns about the weather. it was chilly and windy in hollywood. arch campbell and i are getting ready to go to california, leaving this afternoon. look for our reports starting tomorrow? on abc 7 news. be sure to catch the oscars on sunday night. 4:57, 25 degrees. is that right? my goodness. coming up, an update on the breaking news and trends toward discounting. firefighters on the scene of a tragic fire. >> cpr is being performed on

four people. we will have a live report from